Fewer homeless veterans at event

For second year, number of vets seeking help dropped at Stand Down

Veterans line up along Park Avenue in the early morning on Friday during the first day of Stand Down. The annual three day event to help homeless veterans is in its 27th year.
— Eduardo Contreras / UT San Diego/tweets @contreras_ed

Veterans line up along Park Avenue in the early morning on Friday during the first day of Stand Down. The annual three day event to help homeless veterans is in its 27th year.
— Eduardo Contreras / UT San Diego/tweets @contreras_ed

The number of homeless veterans seeking help dropped for the second year in a row at the annual Stand Down event conducted by Veterans Village of San Diego.

In its 27th year, the three-day event at San Diego High School links veterans with service agencies in an effort get former troops off the streets.

After a few years of serving more than 1,000 vets, this year there were 894 registered participants. Meanwhile, the number of volunteers signed up to lend a hand was nearly 3,000.

In 2013, registered participants totaled 968.

Nationally, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has dedicated a huge pool of funds to a campaign to end homelessness among veterans by 2015.

In San Diego, it has meant hundreds of new housing vouchers for low-income vets, through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Also, regional nonprofit groups have established programs in response to the return of service members who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The city of San Diego’s 220-bed Connections housing facility opened in March 2013 downtown. And last year, the winter emergency shelter tent operated by Veterans Village for the city was extended into the spring.

Veterans Village officials said that while the number of single male veterans seeking assistance dropped, the face of the need has changed.

Families made up a larger segment of the population seeking services at this year’s Stand Down.

“The increase in families at Stand Down has serious implications for our community,” said Phil Landis, the group’s chief executive. “This population represents a group that has significant unmet needs.”

Stand Down was started in 1988 by then-Vietnam Veterans of San Diego as a response to an overwhelming number of homeless veterans on the streets. There are now more than 200 similar Stand Down event held each year throughout the United States.